Something I haven't seen posted anywhere: do you, as practitioners, memorise sutras, prayers, dedications etc for recital purposes? Or do you read from scripts?

Personally I have a hard time remembering the exact wording of anything these days. more so if it is not in my first language, and I think beginner's would be somewhat daunted if they were expected to memorise the entire Lotus Sutra (for example). At one temple I went to the 'service' was given in Chinese and there were booklets handed around that had the words in Chinese (characters and Pinyin), English, and what looked like Tibetan (though could have been something Indian - I am unsure). Problem was that listening to the chanting in one language while trying to read it in another was confusing to say the least. But i digress.

So, to memorise or not to memorise?

Options for both monastics and laypersons invited.

“Not till your thoughts cease all their branching here and there, not till you abandon all thoughts of seeking for something, not till your mind is motionless as wood or stone, will you be on the right road to the Gate.”

i wouldnt bother memorizing long text. heart sutra in sanskrit is starting to be long but reasonable lenght of a text to memorize. also important prayers are good to memorize but i wouldnt bother starting to memorize many pages of text which you can find a better solution to. to request them to hold english teaching nights or something similar.

If the thought of demons Never rises in your mind, You need not fear the demon hosts around you. It is most important to tame your mind within....

In so far as the Ultimate, or the true nature of being is concerned, there are neither buddhas or demons. He who frees himself from fear and hope, evil and virtue, will realize the insubstantial and groundless nature of confusion. Samsara will then appear as the mahamudra itself….

Thanks for bringing this up, I've wondered about it too. I think in time one learns to recite from memory. I never thought I would be able to recite some of the longer Sanskrit mantras, stotras and ślokas but I have, just by reading them over and over. It comes. There are still some longer ones I can't do; I'd like to do the Nīlakaṇṭha Dhāranī / Mahā Karuṇā Dhāranī and the Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī from memory, but unfortunately I don't recite them enough, so I still have to read them. Intention counts.

Worthy, wise and virtuous: Who is energetic and not indolent, in misfortune unshaken, flawless in manner and intelligent, such one will honor gain. - Digha Nikaya III 273

I've found I ended up memorizing things naturally as well, can't get through the whole Heart Sutra yet without reading, but things like the long mantra of Avalokiteshvara I found that after a while I just didn't need the visual aide anymore.

I've always assume there's a real benefit to knowing anything that well, just the fact that you no longer need to read the information physically to access it changes what you can do with it, I think.

If the thought of demons Never rises in your mind, You need not fear the demon hosts around you. It is most important to tame your mind within....

In so far as the Ultimate, or the true nature of being is concerned, there are neither buddhas or demons. He who frees himself from fear and hope, evil and virtue, will realize the insubstantial and groundless nature of confusion. Samsara will then appear as the mahamudra itself….

I like memorizing things I like to be able to recite things whenever and wherever, without relying on a piece of paper to remind me.

As a Linguistics major (and a linguaphile) I knew I wouldn't be able to resist memorizing a few sutras in Sanskrit. I used a technique I needed for something a few months ago and managed to get the Heart Sutra down in about a day. If you look for the right tools it should make memorizing a lot easier

But again! You have to think if it's something that's important for you. If you're finding it difficult reading it in one language while hearing it in another, then memorizing might take some of that difficulty away. But it'll be difficult getting to that point too perhaps.

Like another poster said , if you listen to things over and over, some parts of them you start to memorize naturally. I'd give it a try with the Heart sutra and see how it works for you! ^^

Memorize by rhythm is memorizing by the sequence of sounds, like memorizing a song where the rhythm indicates the place in the verses.

Memorize by outline is memorizing by the outline of the root text you were given that explains the meanings in categories and by numbers. For ex: The category of hindrances to concentration of which there are 5.

When you're very sick or tired it's difficult to recall using rhythm, especially if you cannot speak, in that case you can have memorized by outlines and recall what the verses said line by line even though you're drifting in and out of coherency.

If there is a radical inconsistency between your statements and the position you claim to hold,you are a sock puppet.Make as many accounts as you want; people can identify your deception with this test.